Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to making payments using mobile devices, and more particularly, to using the mobile device to intelligently make payments.
Related Art
Electronic payments are becoming a preferred method of payment because they offer advantages to the user not present with traditional physical payments. With a physical payment, the user is required to carry the funding instrument and present the funding instrument when ready to make a payment. Examples of physical funding instruments include cash, checks, credit cards, debit cards, coupons, gift certificates, gift cards, and the like. These can take up space in a user pocket, purse, or wallet. To reduce space, the consumer may not carry all funding instruments all the time, resulting in the possibility that a desired funding instrument is not available when the consumer is ready to use it at a point of sale (POS). Such physical funding instruments may also be lost or stolen. Thus, physical “wallets” can be cumbersome, inconvenient, and prone to loss.
To remedy this, mobile devices have been and are being used to make payments through payment providers, such as PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Such payment providers typically allow a consumer to make a payment through the user's mobile device, such as through the use of barcodes, communication between the payment provider and the merchant, and other methods. After authentication and/or authorization, the payment is made through a user account with the payment provider, where the account is funded through a funding source, such as the user's bank or credit card. The funding source is typically a single default source selected by the user.
While this may allow the consumer to forego carrying credit cards, bank cards, and cash, the user must still decide whether to use the payment provider service, another payment service on the mobile device, or a physical funding instrument. This can be disadvantageous, which also applies to physical wallets, because the user must decide which of the many possible funding instruments to use for a particular purchase. This may result in the user choosing a payment instrument that is not the “best” choice for the transaction.
Therefore, a need exits for a payment solution that overcomes the disadvantages described above with conventional payment methods.